3 o THE CROW'S-NEST. Chap. III. 



So great is the discharge of fresh water from the glacier 

 and the innumerable icebergs, and so calm has been the 

 weather, that we find the surface of the sea covered to a 

 depth of three inches by water which is perfectly fresh ! 



16th. — One of the loveliest mornings imaginable ; the ice- 

 bergs sparkled in the sun, and the breeze was just sufficiently 

 strong to ripple the patches of dark blue sea ; beyond this, 

 there was nothing to cheer one in the prospect from the 

 crow's-nest at four o'clock; but little change had taken 

 place in the ice ; I therefore determined to run back along 

 the pack-edge to the south-westward, in the hope that some 

 favourable change might have taken place further orT shore. 

 The barometer was unusually low, yet no indication of any 

 change of weather. A seaman's chest was picked up; it 

 contained only a spoon, a fork, and some tin canisters, and 

 probably drifted here from the southward, where the two 

 whale-ships were crushed in June, affording another proof of 

 the prevalence of southerly winds. As we steamed on, the 

 ice was found to have opened considerably ; it fell calm, and 

 mist was observed rolling along the glacier from the south- 

 ward. By noon a S.E. wind reached us ; all sail was set, 

 the leads or lanes of water became wider, and our hopes of 

 speedily crossing Melville Bay rose in proportion as our 

 speed increased. We are pursuing our course without let or 

 hindrance. 



The " crow's-nest " is a peculiarity of arctic ships ; it is 

 merely a secure and sheltered look-outpost, as high up the mast 

 as possible. Here on this lofty perch the commander spends 

 anxious hours watching the ice-movements, and tracing out 

 in the ever-changing labyrinth the most secure and con- 

 tinuous " leads " or " lanes " of water in the direction of his 

 course. It resembles a cask about 4^ feet high, and wide 

 enough for a man to turn round in freely ; it has a trap-door 

 in the bottom through which he enters it, a small moveable 



